Where can I find your disability section?

Hannah_Alumni · February 2023

That's what Dr Hannah Barham Brown asked staff at her local Waterstones.

[Decorative image of books on library shelves]

In an opinion piece, written for the Mirror by Rachel Charlton-Dailey, the topic of non-fiction books about disability and by disabled authors, especially female authors has come into question.

"This is because most bookshops don’t have a specific section for non-fiction disabled books. Where there are sections for non-fiction books on important areas of identity such as race, gender and LGBTQ+ studies, disability has been forgotten about again." writes Rachel.

Dr Hannah Barham Brown took to Twitter, sharing her frustrations and thoughts with the disabled community and many people felt the same way. One Waterstones staff member said "if she could fill a shelf, they'd have a good shot" meaning to bringing attention to these amazing books and writers. So Hannah collated a huge list, including;

Sitting Pretty by Rebecca Tausig
DisVisibility by Alice Wong
Poor Little Sick Girls by Ione Gamble
Different Not Less by Chloe Hayden
Crippled by Dr Frances Ryan
Vagina Problems by Lara Parker

And some titles to be released soon;

The Friendly Autism Cookbook by Lydia Wilkins
Driving Forwards by Sophie Morgan
So I’m Autistic by Sarah O’Brien
See me Rolling by Lottie Jackson
Stumbling Through Time and Space by Rosemary Riching
Some of us Just Fall by Polly Atkin
The View from Down Here by Lucy Webster
Charli Clement’s debut.

This article has brought to light another social barrier in the book writing and publishing world. It's hard enough to get a book written and published, but when those in the disabled community, especially women are met with the opinion that "there isn't a market for our books" disheartening is not strong enough a word.

In my own experience, as someone with IBD and a stoma, I barely see any fictional tv or film characters who are like me, without it being in a medical situation. Let alone, be able to find books about and by people with IBD and stomas. All the ones I find are medical or dietary. I find more people, who are like me, sharing their stories on social media and blogs. It also brings up questions around inclusivity in the fictional book world too.

Dr Hannah Barham Brown said;

“The response I’ve had to this campaign shows that the demand for these books is there, but they are harder to find when bookshops don’t stock them, or place them in an easy-to-find section as they do with similar topics."

So, what do you think? Do we need to bring more attention to these books and writers? Do you think there is a "market" for stories about disability?

I certainly do.

Alex_Alumni · February 2023

I've been following this on Twitter, and I'm glad to see it's catching attention

I also feel the same way about fiction books, but that is also an area that's slowly featuring more disabled stories, by disabled authors.

I know it would've meant a great deal if I could read about any character, fictional or real, who had cerebral palsy

Adeline · February 2023

Alex_Scope said:

I know it would've meant a great deal if I could read about any character, fictional or real, who had cerebral palsy

I was wondering if there was a fictional character with cerebral palsy, whether you'd want the focus of the story on them having CP or a main character that just happens to have CP?
Obviously more representation as a whole would be wonderful, my question is just a curiousity.

Hannah_Alumni · February 2023

@Alex_Scope I do find my disabled characters in fiction books are in children's books as a way to educated and promote inclusivity.

That is a great question @Adeline I'm also curious whether people would prefer the characters disability to be written by someone with a personal knowledge? Whether having the disability themselves or a loved one that did.

durhamjaide2001 · February 2023

Oh I didn't have a clue that this was going on thanks for sharing this with us today @Hannah_Scope.

chiarieds · February 2023

As someone who had a secondhand bookshop for nearly 25 years, I can say that I don't remember having a single person asking about books on disability, nor did we have a 'disability' section. However, I could have pulled books off the shelves both fiction & non-fiction that I'd read & would recommend. These are some:

Oliver Sacks, a neurologist, wrote some fascinating & very readable non-fiction, & if a person wasn't intrigued by the title 'The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat,' there are others, 'Musicophilia,' 'An Anthropologist on Mars,' & my favourite 'Awakenings,' which was also made into an excellent film.

There's also:

'My Left Foot' by Christy Brown (cerebral palsy)

'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly' by Jean Dominique Bauby (locked in syndrome)

Helen Keller's autobiography

With fiction, there's:

'Skallagrigg' by William Horwood (cerebral palsy) & my absolute favourite

The Lincoln Rhyme books (tetraplegia) by Jeffrey Deaver

'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' (autism) by Mark Haddon

'The Housekeeper and The Professor', by Yoko Ogawa which was recommended to me by 66Mustang & which is about a character who only has a short term memory of about 80 mins

I did read Oliver Sack's books because of my interest in neurology, but with fiction it was just that the books pulled me in; just that they're about people. We did put fiction books into genres, but to have a section on disability to me would have meant that a non-disabled person might possibly miss out on some very good books.

Hannah_Alumni · February 2023

That sounds like it was amazing @chiarieds having a second hand book shop!

Thank you for the recommendations, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time is actually one of my all time favourite reads.

It's interesting to think that having a section may discourage people from reading them. I think having both mixed and a section would be beneficial. You do get avid readers who realise they need to broaden their reading lists. I've gone back to read more "classics" this year and actually took your advice from a previous post to look at what other countries consider "classics".